


Dust-Covered Dreams

by rubylily



Category: Radiant Historia
Genre: Bonding, Dreams, Gen, Waiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 17:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7277599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubylily/pseuds/rubylily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raynie tells Eruca of a dream she has often.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dust-Covered Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Quicksilver_ink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quicksilver_ink/gifts).



Rarely could Eruca find time to herself, and the few times she did, she found herself spending more and more time with Raynie.

Their moments together were rare; Eruca was often in Granorg, and Raynie in Alistel. But sometimes their paths overlapped, and they were drawn to one another.

In a clearing behind the castle of Alistel, Eruca watched as Raynie swung and slashed her spear over and over. Raynie often trained lately, when she wasn't waiting in the city. Her movements were swift and harsh, and sweat coated her muscles. Her body was lithe and powerful, and Eruca could not tear her eyes away. Her form was perfect, and her movements free. It was a strong, beautiful sight, she thought to herself.

Eruca ran her finger along the barrel of the gun she held in her lap. Neither Protea nor her father would have ever allowed her to touch a weapon such as a spear or sword, but magic had been different. Even Protea had admitted that magic was far more refined and less brutish, though she could not stand the sights of Eruca's guns and had ordered them to be put away.

Thus Eruca had practiced in secret, and as she joined the Resistance, her guns had not seemed any more refined or less brutish than the other weapons. Weapons were meant to kill - she had learned that very quickly.

So then, why did Raynie seem so beautiful in this moment?

Lightning crackled around Raynie's spear, demanding Eruca's attention, and when Raynie swung her spear downward, so did lightning strike the ground with a bright flash.

Raynie was still a moment, simply staring at the smoky blemish upon the hard ground, and then she let out a deep breath as she wiped her brow with her arm.

"That was impressive," Eruca called out, carefully so as not to startle Raynie.

"I think I'm losing my edge," Raynie said as she rolled her shoulder, and she laughed. "Kinda embarrassing, don't you think?"

"Is that why you're training so much now?"

"Maybe. It's better than feeling restless all the time, at least."

Eruca fingers tightened around her gun, and she finally noticed that her hands were shaking. "I believe that you are still strong."

Raynie let out another hearty laugh as she stepped closer to Eruca. "Well, that means a lot coming from you, Your Highness."

Eruca willed herself to meet Raynie's gaze. "It's beautiful, in a way. Your every movement is controlled, and your magic so full of passion."

"You don't need to flatter me so much." Raynie sat next to Eruca on the bench and picked up her flask of water. "If I can't fight, I can't survive. That's all there is to it."

A heavy sigh slipped from Eruca's lips. "Even now we're still fighting..."

Raynie took a long drink of water and was silent a while. "I keep having this dream lately," she finally said, almost startling Eruca. "Me and Stocke are still on our journey, but then I ask him if we could lay down our weapons and live peacefully together. He says yes, and when we tell the others they're happy for us. So we go our own way together, away from all the battles. We don't have to fear for our lives or anything like that. But the desertification keeps catching up to us, and no matter what Stocke does he can't find a way to stop it. So finally we're at the edge of the world, and then..." She hesitated, inhaling a deep breath before speaking again. "He tells me he's sorry and that he has to say goodbye now, and then he disappears, and I wake up."

"A bittersweet dream," Eruca found herself saying. "People are always wondering, 'What if I had done that instead?' Always wondering if we could've done something differently." She bit her lip; how would history have turned out if she had died instead, if her father had not chosen her brother as the Sacrifice? What would have happened to Ernst without her? Would he have still tried to sacrifice his life for hers?

"Yeah, you could say that." Raynie's words cut through Eruca's dark thoughts, although her smile was warm. "I guess it's more like a fantasy than a dream, but lately, every time I dream, it's a lot clearer. Like it really could've happened in another lifetime."

Eruca was silent a moment, remembering the powers of the White and Black Chronicles. Perhaps that was a choice Stocke had tried to make, and if he had, at least he had been happy with Raynie, even if only briefly. "If you had asked him to lay down his weapons with yours, do you believe he would've said yes?"

Raynie shook her head. "I did ask him, actually. He said he was sorry but that he couldn't stop fighting either. But he also promised that he'd come back to me once everything was over. That he did want me to show him another life besides war."

"You truly do love him." Eruca felt a faint smile tug at her lips. She still missed her brother dearly, but she couldn't deny the love and companionship he had found in his life as Stocke. "I'm glad."

"I believe he'll come back to us. He won't break his promise so easily." Raynie stretched her arms out. "But it's rude to keep a lady waiting so long, don't you think?"

Much to her surprise, Eruca could not help but laugh. She laid her hand over heart; even now her soul called out for the portion she had given to her brother, but that life was no longer hers to claim. "If you believe in him, then so will I. I want to make this world a better place for him."

Raynie jumped to her feet and stood in front of Eruca. "Well, if you plan on waiting, then you have to keep your strength up!" She held out her hand. "So let's spar a little bit, just you and me!"

Eruca accepted Raynie's hand. "If you insist. I have been feeling quite restless myself."

Raynie grinned as she pulled Eruca to her feet, and Eruca found that she did not wish to release Raynie's warm, calloused hand.


End file.
